Adam Platt on Romera; the Fast-Food Indian Trend Heats Up

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In this week’s New York, Adam Platt considers Romera, the pricey new restaurant in the basement of the Dream Hotel. Its chef, Dr. Miguel Sanchez Romera, is a “trained neurologist and a self-taught chef whose food is described by his admirers (his Barcelona restaurant, L’Esguard, has one Michelin star) as being a kind of holistic, artisanal version of the high-wire molecular gastronomy practiced by his famous countryman Ferran Adrià.” His dishes have Greek names, tasting notes from the chef, and are presented with flavored waters — the price tag for a meal is a set $245. Our critic finds a “soft, deliberately blanched quality to Dr. Romera’s mannered style of cooking (he famously substitutes a cassava gel for pork fat,” which works best in the seafood and vegetable dishes. Platt also enjoys the “clinically soothing, almost spalike peacefulness of the room”; but ultimately prices are too high — the restaurant receives one star.

In the ten years since Kati Roll Company opened on Bleecker Street, the Indian fast-food trend has heated up. From dosas to the puffed rice dish bhel puri, here’s a look at where to find Indian bites that span the subcontinent, most of them going for under $10.

Meanwhile, Spotted Pig alumnus Nate Smith has opened his place in Williamsburg, Allswell, which boasts seasonal cooking; a quirky, lived-in setting; and a transporting vibe. See the menus. And as it gets chillier, here’s an apple recipe from Mario Batali that’s practically a cheese course and a dessert rolled into one.